at St. Lawrence: Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio
at Clarkson: Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

The Niagara men's hockey team got a sneak peek at its 2015-16 roster last weekend in a fast-paced 5-3 exhibition win over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Knights. The Purple Eagles hosted the St. Lawrence Saints and Clarkson Golden Knights on opening weekend of last season, and this year the team travels north to open up a new year against those same foes as the regular season gets underway. Niagara starts the road trip at St. Lawrence (Fri. Oct. 9, 7:00 p.m.) before continuing on to Clarkson the next night (Sat. Oct. 10, 7:00 p.m.)
 
Last Time Out
 

• Niagara hosted Wilfrid Laurier University from Ontario for an exhibition game. Niagara won that game 5-3.
• Defenseman Vinny Muto led Niagara scorers in that game with a goal and two assists. Nick Farmer added two goals, while Albin Karlsson, Luke Edwards, and Phillip Nasca all finished with two assists.
• Freshman goaltender Guillaume Therien, who is expected to start Friday against St. Lawrence while starting netminder Jackson Teichroeb is out, recorded 20 saves on 23 shots versus Wilfrid Laurier.
• Niagara had quite the impressive power play performance last Saturday, converting on 3-of-4 man-advantage chances. Last season, the Purple Eagles scored just 18 power-play goals, converting on 11.9 percent of their chances.

 
Full House
 

• Entering the 2015-16 season, Niagara head coach Dave Burkholder is carrying 30 players on his roster, which is the maximum number of skaters and goaltenders allowed.
• Niagara's roster is composed of 16 forwards, 10 defensemen, and four goaltenders.
• The roster consists of nine freshmen, seven sophomores, nine juniors, and five seniors.
• While just over half of Niagara's roster is made up of underclassmen, the team is the fourth-oldest in the nation in terms of average age of players (22 years, 100 days).
• For the upcoming season, Niagara retained players that accounted for 71 percent of the team's points in the 2014-15 campaign.

 
Scouting the Saints (0-0-0; 0-0-0 ECAC)
 

• St. Lawrence finished 20-14-3 overall last season.
• The Saints finished second in the ECAC with a 14-7-1 conference record, but lost in the conference tournament to fifth-seeded Colgate.
• Like Niagara, St. Lawrence returns three of their top five scorers from last season. The Saints are led offensively by Brian Ward, a senior forward who had nine goals and 17 assists in 2014-15.
• The Saints have a small freshman class with five newcomers this year, while the team also carries eight sophomores, seven juniors, and seven seniors.

 
Scouting the Golden Knights (0-0-0; 0-0-0 ECAC)
 

• Clarkson finished eighth in the ECAC last year, recording an 8-11-3 conference record (12-20-5 overall).
• The Golden Knights sport a 27-man roster which includes 17 sophomores and juniors.
• Like Niagara, Clarkson boasts a strong junior class. Three of Clarkson's top five scorers last season return as juniors this year, including forwards Troy Josephs and A.J. Fossen, and defenseman James de Haas.

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